Gentle Nothingness, a companion piece
by Angel of the Five Winds
Summary: B-Side to Tender Oblivion, Kyon's POV.


It was a hectic and crowded winter afternoon as I passed through the transit. Students of various ages were already heading home, eager to heat themselves on the _kotatsu_ that was most likely prepared in their respective living rooms.

Today was so boring. But I suppose that everything would seem lackluster when compared to the ridiculous scenarios that plagued my developing years.

I suppose that being a writer gives me some sort of release from those memories. And it's a good thing too, since I can't be anything more than this, really. Gah, I'm hopeless.

Let's see now, that self-centered woman became a politician. I shudder at the unfortunate implications of her decisions. I pray to the gods that I be kept safe from harm.

That man with a creepy smile? He's managing something. He still gives me that god-awful smile of his. Come to think of it, I realize that my prayer to the gods earlier was useless. Crap!

My untouchable angel is now an actress. I suppose that it fits her, and it's far better than a waitress. But the fact that she is now "public property" still rubs me the wrong way.

Hmm? I seem to be missing someone. Nevermind, I'm quite sure that I'll remember that person.

A couple of autograph requests later, I suddenly realized that I was in front of my alma mater. Oh come on. Does my body ache for more punishment from her?

"Keep yer masochistic thoughts ta yerself, young'un!" an elder shouted out at me as I passed by. Of course, being the self-proclaimed most apathetic man in the entire reality, I suppose it makes sense. And I also need to keep my thoughts to myself. Seriously, I'm gonna get trouble if I keep saying things out loud like this.

I recall those times when those strange happenings occurred. They were weird, for the lack of a better term, but they were endearing just as they are.

My high school life flashed before my very eyes, each important event highlighted by some sort of divine light. I suppose that having that sort of high school tenure would be far better than most, especially those exiting parts of it. But I digress; the flip side of it would definitely be the crux of the deal.

I smiled as I recall all of those mishaps, all of those misadventures, all of those crazy shenanigans. I realized that it made my childhood wishes come true, in a roundabout sort of manner. It is quite hypocritical of me to peg them as not good memories when I did quite enjoy them. I shake my head ruefully at that, and adjusted my coat to better defend myself against the cold.

As I pass by my homeroom of a lifetime ago, I sensed that someone passed by here a few moments ago. Hmm, I just missed them. No matter, it must've been one of the staff. After all, if an alumnus such as I can visit here during winter break, what stops the staff from doing the same?

Yet another memory flashed by me. Ah! I remember now! It was her I was forgetting. I remembered fondly the time when I was trapped there, without any idea what happened, of course. How I was acting like some sort of stalker, looking at someone whom I was very sure was killed right in front of me, and other crazy things. I seem to be cataloguing a lot of things as crazy, but that's fine. Those would end up as ideas for my books anyway. And those sell well, if my fans have to say anything about it.

As I continued down my literal memory lane, I blushed. So that's why I was doing some selective memory blocking on it. In hindsight, I was panicking that time and was very, very confused. I sighed, cursing my juvenile – or not, depending on the point of view – thinking.

I remembered her humanization vividly, and all of the comings and goings after that. After all, it's not everyday that one sees a Data Interface Entity being bestowed emotions upon.

There was something that bothered me though. Even after having those emotions, she still acted like she was before, the main difference being her initiative to conversations, and a few smiles and frowns here and there.

I kept on walking until something got snagged in my peripheral vision. I blinked. Was I seeing a lavender-haired angel draped in white tunic? I blinked once more. Nope. I wasn't seeing an angel – it was her! I feel my face heating up once more, especially when my brilliant mind just decided to remind me of the fact that none of our group had anything good in _that_ part of life. It flared some more when I recalled that time and space.

I moved slowly away from her, making sure that I wasn't in her range of detection. When I was clear, I scratched the back of my head, wondering exactly why I was acting like some sort of hormonal teenager when I'm passed that already. It's not like she was expecting something from me at that time, right?

I sat down on a bench outside of the campus, trying to figure out how exactly I ended up overlooking her. My face flushed, recalling exactly what I said when I found out about her growth as a "human". It wasn't like it was false altogether, especially as her job put her on her proverbial spotlight. I also remember her asking a few copies of my books for the library, and a signed copy for her own.

Time ticked by without my notice, and I mentally woke up from my reminiscing with the dark sky looming above me, and small particles of snow fell down, landing a touchdown on my head like a game of American football, or hand-egg as I prefer to call it. As I stood up and stretched my aching spine, I heard a quiet voice nearby say, "Please, don't forget". I knew the owner of that soft voice.

I slowly walked into her view, emerging from the small kiosk that was blocking her view of me. She looked at me, quite shocked that I was there as well. Not that anyone else could possibly tell that she was, though. I know that she thought that she should've sensed me, but the fact that I wasn't doing anything aggressive against her was probably mudding her "view" of me. She was petrified, bound high-strung by the fact that I must've heard her silent plea to the skies above. The fact that this scene right now looks so damn similar to that time wasn't helping the current tension between us.

Hi.

I tried something simple. Nothing beats the classics, right?

"Hello" she says back. She relaxes into her normal self, but those now-expressive eyes are still conveying their shock at the situation we found ourselves in.

Are you going home already, Nagato?

"Yes. I am. Is there anything I could help you with?" she calmly replies.

How about I walk with you there, then? It's been years since I've last done so.

"Very well. Will you stay for tea?" she continues with that smooth voice of hers.

That would be lovely.

She smiles, and then nods her head once, affirming her agreement. If anyone were here though, they wouldn't have noticed it.

We both walked slowly, down this hill of memories.


End file.
